Morning
by Cell 151
Summary: Part of a series of short stories detailing a part of the day with the Team Avatar couples. Maiko. T (Suggestive Fluff). Zuko spends the day in meetings while Mai and Izumi play in the garden.


Morning

Sleeping in was a difficult thing to do for a firebender and for Fire Lord Zuko there was no exception. Not that he minded although there were times when he would've preferred another hour or two of sleep. As soon as the sun came up over the horizon and the first rays of sunshine filtered through the curtains and played across the sleeping forms of the Fire Lord and Fire Lady, Zuko would feel something slowly dragging him into consciousness. This morning Zuko merely stared up at the ceiling lamenting over the fact that he had yet another big meeting today. More accurately he had a day filled with a series of big meetings. He didn't mind some of them but the ones today would feature certain advisors and department heads that gave the young Fire Lord a hard time for no apparent reason.

" _Why don't you just fire them_ ," asked Mai once after hearing her husband grumble continuously on how he hated so-and-so.

" _There's a problem with that_ ," he told her, " _Despite being annoying and giving me constant headaches they're good at their respective jobs and replacing them would be difficult. Besides at least they've remained with me and not gone off to join some rebellion. Trust is hard thing to come by these days."_

At least things had gotten better in that regard. Pretty much no one was pining for the days when the Fire Nation sought to conquer every bit of land and fly their banners high. Most were glad that the war was over although those who made money off it were not too pleased. And of course there were various problems with rogue military commanders and units that refused to surrender. But in time they were taken care of. The biggest problem was the New Ozai Society, which was made up of members of the elite including Mai's father. Men of power who gained wealth and power under Ozai and were now afraid of losing one scrap of it.

After a sting operation led to the exposure of the society and a vast series of arrests of its members resulted. Mai's father was sparred, something Mai wasn't too happy with. Zuko gave him a nice cushy job that paid well and looked good on paper but in actuality it required very little work and had no power or authority. Zuko warned him that if he ever stepped out of line or betrayed him or Mai again he would not hesitate to have him throw in jail along with the others.

" _You'll never be the man your father was,"_ grumbled the former governor of Omashu. He accepted the offer but he couldn't leave the room with a wounded pride.

Zuko looked at him not with anger but with consideration. " _I guess not. I guess I'll never be like my father or my male ancestors. Lunatics bent on committing genocide is a tough thing to live up to_ ," his voice dripping with sarcasm. " _But you know I think I'll do one thing my father would, just for you."_ He leveled his father-in-law with a glare. " _Step out of line again and you won't be sent to prison but I'll put you in front of the firing squad. As your body burns I'll make sure the last thing you'll see will be my face watching you as you turn to ash. Am I clear?"_ The elder man nodded, the snobby prideful look on his face long since wiped off. " _Good. Now get out of my office."_

As grandparents Mai's mother was much a bigger presence in Izumi's life than her father. Zuko and Mai were surprised that Mai's parents managed to stay together despite everything. They suspected that it was for Tom-Tom's sake. Mai knew for a fact that her mother gave her father, like Zuko, an ultimatum albeit a less violent one.

Izumi's other grandparents, Ursa and Ikem and their daughter Kiyi, were a constant presence in the palace whenever they weren't on Ember Island. The beach home on Ember Island was given to Ursa and her family and they kept themselves busy as the new directors of the Ember Island Players. Izumi would be uncontrollable with excitement when they visited. She'd bounce around endlessly awaiting their arrival and would bury herself in her bed with tears when they left.

"Zuko," said a voice that snapped Zuko out of his thoughts. He was surprised that his wife was awake. He rolled onto his side and regarded her form. Her long raven black hair went down to her lower back and she was wearing a very short black robe that only came down to her thighs. Zuko smiled and moved over to Mai, spooning her from behind and moving her hair out of the way so he could kiss her neck.

"Good morning," he said softly. "I'm surprised you're up." He inspected Mai's face to see her eyes were closed and a smile on her face.

"We have a visitor," said Mai with amusement.

Zuko raised an eyebrow, confused and then worried. He glanced around the room and saw that the room was empty.

Mai chuckled. "Don't' worry. Our assassin is only a couple feet tall, dark brown hair, gold eyes, and holding a deadly stuffed penguin in her hand." Zuko looked towards the connecting door to their daughter's bedroom. At first he couldn't see anything aside from the door being slightly ajar. But he peered closer and indeed there was a small figure standing there, her gold eyes standing out in the shadows. Zuko smiled. He leaned down and kissed his wife's cheek.

"What's our best course of action?"

"Invite her in, distract her with kisses, disarm her of deadly penguin," said Mai who was really grinning now. Zuko couldn't suppress his own grin at the sight. Mai usually didn't like mornings especially when she had a firebender for a husband who, no matter how quiet he tried to be, still woke her up doing his morning exercises.

"I agree," he whispered before kissing his wife again. He looked up at Izumi who had stepped back a little from the doorway in uncertainty. "Good morning Izumi. Come on. You can join us."

The door moved open a little and Princess Izumi, age four, slowly shuffled into the room. Although she hadn't displayed signs of it yet, Zuko believed she was a firebender. If anything her waking up at dawn was a tell tale sign. When he told this to Mai a couple weeks ago she merely groaned and complained she'd never be able to sleep in again. In her arms Izumi held her favorite toy and most cherished possession: a stuffed penguin. It had been a gift from Katara, whom Izumi affectionately called Aunt Kat due to her being unable to fully pronounce her name, and ever since she acquired it had been her go-to source of play and comfort. Her Uncle Aang and Aunt Katara had promised to take her to the South Pole one day to see real penguins and possibly go penguin sledding.

Izumi came to a stop by the side of the large bed and shifted slightly on her feet, a look of guilt on her face. "M-Morning. I didn't wake you did I?" She unknowingly melted both her parents' hearts at that moment.

"Of course not sweetie," said Zuko. "Come on up." At this Izumi smiled.

Mai sat up and held her arms towards her daughter. Izumi jumped up into her mother's arms and Mai hugged her close and leaned back onto her pillow. She rubbed her daughter's back and peppered kisses on her head.

"Good morning Mommy," said Izumi cheerily.

"Good morning sweetie," said Mai as she gently stroked a hand through Izumi's hair.

If the sight of his little daughter coming into the room in her pajamas and her favorite toy wasn't enough to melt Zuko's heart, it was her nestling into her mother's arms that left whatever was left of his heart charred. He was equally touched by the look of content on his wife's face. Despite so much initial worrying and reluctance leading up to the birth of their daughter and the first year or two of her existence, Mai along with her husband had came to be at ease with being parents.

Becoming parents, having a child and starting a family is always bound to come with feelings of nervousness and fear and the Fire Lord and Fire Lady had every right to those sort of feelings. Their upbringing weren't ideal to say the least. Zuko's childhood trouble was literally written on his face whereas Mai's was a bit more complicated. Add in the issues of security and what one got was a Fire Nation royal couple who were literally out of their minds with worrying although Mai was much better at concealing it, thanks to years of practice, than Zuko. But eventually things settled down and it helped that Izumi herself was a very sweet and sometimes shy little girl. She'd bounce between energetic and enthusiastic to unsure and hesitant. She of course had her temperamental moments but this was to be expected of any child and when she had one of her turns they managed to get through them. Izumi was a fast learner even at her young age and she soon learned that screaming and yelling wouldn't get her anything except a stern talking to or, at worse, exiled to her room or her beloved penguin taken away for a period of time. The taking away of the penguin was a one-time occurrence and her parents quickly learned that threatening the removal of said toy was good enough to get Izumi to behave. Zuko and Mai took no pride in doing such acts but they knew they had to. Neither of them liked hearing Izumi's muffled crying in the next room. For Zuko it was the equivalent of physical pain and while Mai didn't plainly show it on her face, her eyes often betrayed her and Zuko knew it was tearing her up inside just as much as it was to him.

Zuko moved over on the bed and took both his wife and his daughter into his arms, embracing his favorite girls. Mai looked up at him with pale gold eyes and that small warm smile that Zuko loved so much. He leaned down and kissed her on the lips. He turned his attention to Izumi and placed a kiss on her head.

"Morning Zoom." She liked being called 'Zoom.' Izumi giggled and turned her head upwards to face her father. She placed her little hands on either of his cheeks and gave him a kiss.

"Morning Daddy," she said cheerfully. "What are we going to do today?"

Inwardly Zuko sighed. Usually 'we' meant just Mai and Izumi. Unlike royal family children of the past, Izumi wasn't entirely raised by nannies. It wasn't a tradition or anything, it all depended on the parents. Some were loving parents who brought up their offspring while others left it to nannies and the palace staff. Those who did treated their children more like objects rather than human beings, occasionally taking them down to show them off to others before putting them away to ignored again. Zuko's mother was not one of these people as she took pride in raising her children although of course that fell apart when Ozai recognized the benefit of taking an interest in his children especially his firebender daughter.

For Fire Lady Mai she did not want to an absent figure in her daughter's life. But she wanted to be politically and diplomatically active as well, often acting as an advisor and bodyguard to her husband, which of course was very unusual for a Fire Lady. The look on the faces of the advisors and various members of Zuko's cabinet when Mai sat next to her husband during one of his meetings were priceless. But at the same time she wanted to be there for Izumi so for her early life Izumi spent little time, maybe a couple hours of the day, with a nanny before being in the care of one or both her parents.

Knowing the agenda for today Zuko knew this would be a day without spending time with Izumi. For the past week he'd only see Izumi at breakfast, dinner and for a short period in the evening before she went to bed. He rarely saw her at lunch because usually he'd skip lunch. The Fire Lord sighed and tried to keep the smile on his face.

"Oh I'm sure Mom has things planned," he said enthusiastically. Mai was probably going to kill for him for that but he knew she was good at improvising activities to do with Izumi.

"Well," said Mai, running her fingers through Izumi's hair, "after breakfast we have to do your lessons and after that maybe we can play in the gardens. How's that?"

Izumi nodded her head excitedly. They were already teaching Izumi how to read and write and like everything else Izumi tackled the task head on. The only time Izumi disliked doing her lessons was when she was having difficulty with it, although it took a lot to get to that point. She had good patience for her age, a trait she did not inherent from her father, but when she reached the end of it she was in a foul mood and Mai knew she couldn't budge her from it.

"Will you play with us Daddy," asked Izumi.

Zuko dreaded this question as he heard it many times and in different iterations. He and Mai shared a look and then he turned back to Izumi. His smile dropped. He sat up straight on the bed, plucked his daughter from his wife's arms and held her. He kissed her forehead.

"I'm sorry sweetheart but I have Fire Lord things to do today. Hopefully once I get all this decision making stuff done then I'll have time to play with you and Mommy."

Izumi didn't say anything at first. She had a frown on her face now. Zuko could see the internal thoughts play out across her face. Hurt, confusion, sadness, and then what seemed like acceptance. Izumi wanted to point out that it had been an eternity since he had spent an entire day with her. But she knew how important his job was. She didn't understand completely of course but knew that it was very important. Izumi knew it was no use bringing all of this up. She once yelled at Zuko's secretary of defense for taking her Daddy away from her.

Izumi looked up her father and simply nodded. "Okay Daddy." Her expression then turned to a demanding one. She poked her father's chest with a finger. "But you promise you'll come play when you can."

Zuko couldn't help but laugh. He glanced at his wife who had amused look on her face. A memory from long away came to him. _Don't ever break up with me again._ He chuckled and kissed Izumi's nose. "I promise, Princess Izumi."

After some more talks and a brief tickle fight with Izumi, Mai had managed to take hold of Izumi and give her the tickling of a lifetime before Zuko heroically saved her from the evil Fire Lady, Izumi bounded off the bed, penguin still in hand, and ran to her room to get dressed for the day. Mai knew she would eventually have to go and assist her daughter, especially with her hair, but she wanted some extra time with her husband. She kicked off the covers and wiggled on the bed as Zuko hovered over her with a smirk on his face.

"Well now," he said, moving his hand along Mai's neck. "Since we were interrupted, granted it was a very cute interruption, I didn't get to give you a customary good morning greeting." His hand slid down to her chest, his fingers parting the robe so he could he feel her skin.

"You 'customary morning greeting', as you call it, is usually you waking me up with your dragon dance nonsense," said Mai dryly. Zuko ignored her comment and directed his hand to one of her breasts. He lightly cupped it through the thin material of the robe. Mai let out a moan and leaned her head back on the pillow. Zuko's hand continued downward to her stomach, his goal being the ties of her robe. Before he got there Mai spoke again. "You should note that the door to Izumi's room is still open, she's awake and at any moment she could be calling me to help her."

Her words fell on deaf ears. Normally Zuko would've backed off there with the threat of his daughter catching them but the reasoning part of his brain wasn't functioning at the moment. He undid the ties and opened the robe. He looked hungrily at his wife in her wrappings. She opened her eyes and gazed at him with that feline smile that he loved so much. He licked his lips and leaned down to kiss her navel. Mai sighed and moved one of her hands off to bed and up to Zuko's head so she could run a hand through his hair. His kisses moved upwards, up her stomach to the between her breasts. He kissed her chest before giving her a heated kiss on the lips. She wrapped her hands around the back of his head and pulled him closer.

"Mom! Can you help me," called a voice from the other room.

Zuko let out a sigh. Mai gave him a pat on the cheek and a look of sympathy before rolling off the bed, heading towards Izumi's room. Zuko stared blankly at the pillow where Mai's head once was, not coming to terms that his session with his wife had, yet again, been interrupted by his daughter. Mai had told him when Izumi was born, _"You can say goodbye to afternoon sex."_ And she was right of course. Zuko sighed, got off the bed and headed to the bathroom to wash up. He held onto hope that he would continue where he left off after Izumi had gone to bed that evening. Now he had to turn his attention to more pressing matters: running the country.

Reo, Zuko's chief of staff, was out in the hall waiting for the Fire Lord to finish his breakfast. He was Zuko's second-in-command. He was forty five, about six feet tall, black hair that was beginning to grey, and a personality that was friendly and pleasant if you were on his good side. If you weren't, when you left his office after a verbal lashing you'd feel as if your brain had just gotten run over by an ostrich horse. Even Zuko experienced this from time-to-time as Reo didn't hold back when addressing his boss. It was one of the qualities that Zuko liked. While his job would be so much easier if he just hired yes-men he still needed a voice that wasn't afraid to voice an opposing viewpoint. But what set Reo apart from the rest of his advisors that caused him so many headaches is that they gave the young Fire Lord a hard time just for the fun of it. If Reo wanted to voice a differing opinion he did it because he fully believed it. Although Zuko always got the final say in a matter, he valued Reo's opinion more than anybody else in his administration.

He was one of the hardest working individuals in the Fire Nation government. Anything that needed to be brought to the Fire Lord's attention went through him. Governors wanting a meeting: through him. Budgetary issues: through him. Drunken ambassadors who stumbled in wanting an audience: through him and quietly out a door without a lot of fuss. Reo was also one of Zuko's most trusted men in his cabinet and a close friend.

Reo had served under the previous Fire Lord, Ozai, as one of his naval advisors. At the age of thirty six he was the youngest of the Fire Lord's advisors. Reo despised Ozai and the only reason for his enrollment in the military is that he came from a poor and broken home. He was an only child so when he reached adulthood he left home since he didn't need to care for any siblings. The military was the only viable option for someone like him unless he wanted to plow fields all day for the rest of his life. He joined the navy and in the span of a decade had worked his way up to naval commander. His main job had been escorting supply ships back and forth between the Fire Nation and the Earth Kingdom. Along the way someone somewhere had the brilliant idea to take him off his ship and place him in the room with the most powerful and twisted man in the world and have him give advice. Reo didn't have much of a choice. No one refused the Fire Lord.

He immediately hated the job. While Ozai wanted advice and suggestions, whether he followed up on them or ignored them was his decision. Ozai was no military strategist and before his eyes Reo witnessed Ozai send thousands of troops and sailors to their graves. No one else in the room cared. Unlike most of the men in the room Reo knew first hand what combat was like and what it was like to be clinging to a floating piece of debris hoping not only for a rescue boat but also that the waters weren't shark infested. But there was one who did speak up. It was Prince Zuko and for that he paid a severe price.

Months after the Prince's exile, Reo politely resigned his position not wanting to be next in line for an Angi Kai. But of course he didn't get off scot free no matter how polite his resignation was, citing that he felt wasn't able to give valuable advice to the Fire Lord. He kept his commander rank but now he was part of part of an assault division that would land along coastlines and move in on Earth Kingdom lands that had been heavily fortified. It was during one such assault that Reo experienced ground combat for the first time. It was these experiences that led him to heavy drinking following the war's end.

Despite his not too pleasant experiences as an advisor to the now former Fire Lord, he knew that the newly crowned Zuko would need all the help he could get so once again he was back in the royal palace as an advisor. After doing this for five years he was called to Zuko's private study. It was there where Zuko made him an offer for a new position.

" _My lord, I should mention that I have a problem with alcohol,"_ he said to him. He added, _"Due to my experiences during the war."_

The new Fire Lord seemed unfazed by this. _"Well,"_ he said, _"if you feel like this will affect your job performance I recommend seeking treatment for it. As you are aware I've set multiple institutions to help people who've been affected by the war both physically and mentally. I'll make a recommendation and you can go get counseling and in the meantime you can work here. I'll set you up in one of the villas here in the capital. There's one about two blocks away. Nice place. I understand you've recently got engaged."_

Reo nodded, wondering how he got that information. He then remembered who was addressing.

The Fire Lord smiled warmly. _"First of all, congratulations."_ Reo bowed his thanks. _"Second of all talk this over with her. Trust me as someone who's also married not running things by your spouse can lead to problems. If you don't want this position then that's fine. You can resume being my advisor and if you don't want that position I can get you any position in the government or military if you want."_

Reo took a moment to process all of this. _"May I be frank sir?"_

Zuko nodded. _"By all means."_

" _Would you really want an alcoholic as your umm what did you call it? Chief of Staff? You really want someone like me in such an important position?"_

" _Yes,"_ said Zuko simply.

Reo still couldn't wrap his head around this. He simply bowed his head and said, _"I serve the Fire Lord."_

Zuko smiled. _"Good. Now you can knock the bowing stuff off from now on. Secondly, how about some tea?"_

"Morning sir," said Reo as Zuko emerged from the private dining room.

"Morning Reo," said Zuko with a sigh.

Reo recognized the tone. "Problem?"

"No," sighed Zuko, "just that I want to spend time with Izumi and I'm stick in meetings all day."

Reo was sympathetic to this. He had two daughters of his own. "We can cancel some of these meetings. It would be no problem."

Zuko raised his eyebrow to this. "Really? How many do I have that are high priority?"

"You've got your military and intelligence briefing in a few minutes, after that you've got a meeting with some people from treasury, then you've got a meeting with some people from this new environmental conservation thing you started a year ago."

"A year ago," said Zuko, He remembered setting an organization as well as passing a series of laws that would protect local ecosystems as well as his people in general. Based off stories he had from his friends he decided to see for himself the state of some fishing villages in the southern islands and the condition the environment was in due to waste dumping by a local factory. When this was made public there was an outcry as well as a general avoidance of eating fish from that region. "Seems like a lifetime ago. What about the rest?"

"Truthfully we can postpone this stuff. It's not high priority. Here look." Reo handed Zuko the clipboard and Zuko scanned today's schedule. "Postpone the education and agricultural meetings for tomorrow. The rest, unless its high priority, have them submit a report."

Reo nodded and inwardly smiled. He worried when his boss unnecessarily took on a heavy workload and personally oversaw matters that could be handled by others although he couldn't fault Zuko for this work ethic. His father wasn't known for slaving over paper work. He got others to do it.

"I would say that frees up your schedule considerably," said Reo with a smile. He nodded towards the door to the dining room. "Wanna tell them?"

Zuko considered it but then shook his head. "I want to surprise them. Besides you never know. Something could come up and then I would've lied to Izumi." He looked at the time on a nearby clock. "Well, let's get going. I wouldn't want to waste the generals' precious time."

By mid afternoon Princess Izumi had finished with her lessons and was dashing around the garden hiding from her mother with whom she was engaged in a game of hide and seek. Izumi dashed behind a bush and waited. She was pretty sure she had successfully evaded her mother. She clamped a hand over her mouth to stifle her giggles. She relaxed, waited and listened. There was nothing aside from the occasional bird chrip or the distant quacking of turtleducks in the pond. Izumi decided to peak from around the bush. As she did so two hands clamped around her sides and she was suddenly lifted into the air.

"Got ya," announced Mai triumphantly as she spun the still stunned princess around, cradled her in her arms and proceeded to tickle her. Izumi laughed and flailed in her mother's arms.

"Stop it! Its not fair," whined Izumi. Mai decided to cease her torture and planted a kiss on Izumi's nose.

"Good game."

"How did you find me," demanded Izumi.

"That would be telling," said Mai with a smile, "besides I was watching you from behind for quite a bit before I made my move."

"Guess I'm not a good hider," said Izumi with a frown.

Mai smiled and kissed her head. "It's alright sweetie. Besides with how big the garden is I don't want you to be that good of a hider or else I'd never find you." Mai saw that the servants had laid out small table along with lunch under the shade of the tree by the pond. "Come on. Let's go have lunch." This cheered Izumi up immediately.

After enjoying their lunch and feeding the turtleducks, Mai was lying reclined against the tree with Izumi nestled against her chest. Mai gently rubbed her back as the little girl drifted in and out of sleep. While not an overly romantic person as her friends were with the exception of Toph. She still loved black or dark shades of various colors and throwing knives, a skill she wished to pass onto Izumi one day, but being in the gardens on a bright summer's day with her child nestled sleepily in her arms Mai felt at peace. She regarded the slumbering four-year old princess in her arms. _Her daughter. Her child._ It was a concept that at times she had difficulty coming to grips with.

Thinking about Izumi filled her with so many conflicting feelings. Sometimes she felt sad or scared, thinking that she wouldn't measure up to the task of being a good parent. She also felt anger at the possibility of someone hurting her child. The previous year a member of an ambassador's entourage pulled a knife and nearly slit Zukos' throat during a dinner meeting.

She had many conversations with Ursa about being a parent, even though at a first glance the history of Zuko's side of the family resembled a collision between an ostrich horse drawn cart and a train. The former Fire Lady, now just Lady Ursa, had continually reassured her that she would be a wonderful mother. Zuko always told her she was a wonderful mother as did all of her other friends. For Mai she always thought, _Not doing too bad…Considering._ But of course the opinion she valued most was Izumi's. Before Izumi had fallen asleep she had said, _"Love you Mommy."_ Those words meant so much to Mai and she was glad that Izumi quickly fell asleep after that because she started to tear up. She only hoped that love would last.

She looked down at the sleeping child and kissed Izumi's cheek. _My child._ She smiled and decided to follow her daughter's example and take a nap.

When the room cleared Zuko was quickly stuffing his hands with papers, fully intent on dumping them on his desk. Reo regarded him.

"Not too bad huh?"

Zuko shrugged. "We're doing alright."

"We've mostly being doing more than alright for a while," said Reo, gathering his own collection of papers, "but you wouldn't know it with the way these old farts ramble."

Zuko smiled and shook his head. "We've got many problems and we're addressing them. But you are right. On the whole we've been doing good. Now," he said, tucking papers under his arm, "I'm going to dump this on my desk and join my family for once."

"And I'll make sure the Fire Nation doesn't fall apart in your absence," teased Reo.

Zuko gave him a pointed look before smiling. He eagerly rushed out the door and made for his office.

"Afternoon my lady."

The voice woke Mai from her slumber. She looked up and saw Zuko on his knees beside her. She smiled and waited to receive his kiss. He didn't disappoint. They gazed into each other's eyes for a bit before turning their attention to the sleeping princess.

"Should I wake her," asked Mai, "She's been sleeping for a while and I know she'd love to see you." Zuko was hesitant at first but then realized if they let her sleep longer she wouldn't be able to go bed tonight at the appropriate time. He nodded. "Izumi," said Mai gently. "Izumi." Izumi opened her eyes and yawned. "Look who's here."

Izumi sat up a bit, mindful that she was resting on top of her mother, and saw her father. "Daddy," she said softly, beaming up at her father. Zuko picked Izumi up and held her in his arms.

"Sorry I missed all the fun," he said.

"Don't worry," she said, "I'm happy you're here. Mommy and I played hide and seek."

"Who won," asked Zuko. Izumi suddenly frowned and crossed her arms.

"Mommy did," she huffed. Mai chuckled.

"Well she is pretty amazing," said Zuko, giving his wife a kiss as settled down next to her. "So what game should we play next?"

"I don't care," said Izumi, "I'm just happy we're together."

Zuko smiled and nuzzled the top of Izumi's head with his nose. Mai rested her head on his shoulder. "It is nice," he agreed, wrapping one arm around his wife.

For the rest of the day the Fire Nation Royal Family: the Fire Lord, the Fire Lady and the Princess enjoyed the day and each other's company. When the sun began to set they went inside to have dinner. They stayed up late into evening, way past Izumi's usual bedtime, but for once Zuko and Mai decided to let it pass. Eventually Izumi fell asleep and was soon tucked away in her bed with her beloved penguin in her arms.

The Fire Lord and the Fire Lady were soon tucked into their own beds and were soon entangled around each other beneath the sheets. After a long, passionate lovemaking session they remained wrapped around each other as they tried to catch their breaths. Once their panting had stopped and their breathing returned to normal, Mai leaned over and kissed the scarred side of her husband's face. Zuko shuddered. She gently ran a hand down the side of his face while she kissed him in a spot just below his left eye, a place where he loved to be kissed. Zuko tightened his grip on his wife's slender body and pulled her closer so that they were flushed against each other.

"All in all a perfect day wouldn't you say," asked Mai softly.

Zuko smiled and gazed into the pale gold eyes that stood out in the darkness. "Yes," he agreed as he kissed her lips softly, "A perfect day."


End file.
